Which Falcon?

[Craig_TXHC]

Throughout my life I have only ever owned spring guns and even ranted on that they are more fun and more of a challenge etc. but the time has come to move onto a precharged 0.177 so I am now looking at buying my 1st PCP.

I have been down to my local gunshop and handled a few and I have my mind fairly well made up on a Falcon. But the question is which one...

The models in question are: FN19 Raptor Skeleton vs the new PF18 Multi Profile.

Does anyone have any experience of either/both of these rifles, is the action and magazine operation the same on both, if they are different is one more reliable than the other? Obviously if there is no great advantages of the PF18 then I will be saving myself £100 and getting the FN19

Any other comments appreciated

Craig

[ChrisW6]

Have you tried the FN12...?

Nice and light and very pointable, had over 700 rabbits with mine, should have kept it...

Pic below...

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/1...ture0427kt.jpg



.

[Craig_TXHC]

Not yet, but i will do to see how it handles

Cheers Craig

[tango1]

wouldnt swap my fn19 for anything take a look

[engineer]

the magazine indexing system is very similar on both the praire and the raptor, the praire has the advantage of delrin bushes that make for a slightly smoother cocking action but in my experience once you have put a fue hundred rounds through the raptor it all works beautifly, the new 16 round mag is well worth the money as well fits both models.

engineer

[Murphy]

I like the FN12.

[bingo_beans]

I like the FN12 skelton as well. Very popular on here when they come up for sale (at the right price). There's a few second hand ones in gunshops too that I have seen on my travels!

[Born Again]

wouldnt swap my fn19 for anything take a look

Flippin' eck Tango, that looks a bit useful. First time I've seen a bullpupped FN19. I was thinking of getting an AA410 to replace my FN19 but last Sunday I was hitting a 50yd 1" spinner not just every time but in the same place (well touching pellet marks anyway) and I thought "why change it".

Who did the bullpup for you ? It's a nice job.

[Madjohn]

I hav'ent got my self a gun yet, But i think i've settled my heart on a Praire Falcon.

Not sure weather to go for the Multi-shot or the single shot. The single shot is cheaper and another bouns is you get a silencer in with the gun.

[Craig_TXHC]

Cheers for your replies, engineer that was what i wanted to know nice one.
People keep mentioning the FN12 and I am grateful for suggestions, I asked the question regarding the FN19 as I have found a mint second hand one from a gunshop with the QF silencer already on it.

Last question about this gun for now....

Is it pellet fussy? What 0.177 pellets are people using with them?

Cheers Craig

[Dagaros]

PF 18 MP all the way, had one for a year now and cant fault it. Lightweight and the stock is just gorgeous. Kinda bias oppinion but wow isnt it just a lovely rifle

[Craig_TXHC]

Good to hear you are pleased with it Dagaros, I knew typing the question in on this forum would soon highlight if people have got on well or otherwise with the above guns. I can tell if I like the look, feel and the way a gun shoots but what you don't know before you buy is what the ownership will be like. I could't be doing with an unreliable gun....

[Dagaros]

It really is awesome, never had a prob with it. Go out hunting most nights for past 2 months (some of us have little else to do ) and still as smooth as day one. Must be the nicest rifle i have ever held arbeit looking quite funny

[Born Again]

The QF silencer is not highly rated, but it does stop you from wearing the thread out on the filler.

My Falcon is not particularly fussy, it shoots best with JSB 4.52/4.53 or Daystate FT in the same sizes. It also works OK with Crosman Premier 7.9grn and Accupels.

The groups open up with Bisley Magnum, Crow Magnum, RWS Super H, RWS Hobby, Barracuda Match (same as Bis Mag).

I get five mags full (40) good shots from a fill of 180 Bar, after that is starts to make a kind of phut sound, normally the sound comes before a big loss of power so I can top it up.

Very occasionally I cycle a round that doesn't feel like it went in properly, these are usually flyers and I have no idea what is causing it, but I can definately feel that something isn't quite right.

Another weak point on the FN19 is the very thin barrel, it can be bent quite easily by rough handling. If you fit a non Falcon silencer that is supported just on the barrel a bash can bend the barrel and the weight of it will pull the barrel down considerably, affecting the POI.

Also the way the action fits into the wood means that it can rotate quite a lot until you tighten the screws. This can be a good thing as long as you are aware of it.

Finally, the Falcon is very easy to adjust so you can set it to the optimim FPS quite easily.

It's an old design but it works and I've no complaints after years of owning one.

[Craig_TXHC]

Thanks Brian, some useful stuff there. I have heard (seen on here) people talking about the falcon 'twang' and talk of 'detwangers' being fitted. Is this the phut noise you speak of when running low on air or is it something else-if so how bad is it?

Cheers Craig